A former South African Police Service Special Task Force member accused of murdering Madlanga Commission witness Marius “Witness D” van der Merwe has become the focus of a new line of investigation after prosecutors said a cellphone linked to him was discovered while he was in custody.
Matipandile Sotheni appeared in the Brakpan Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, 9 September, where the State asked for more time to complete forensic work before the case is transferred to the High Court for trial.
Prosecutor Trott Mphahlele told the court that investigators had received information that Sotheni had access to a cellphone while detained and had allegedly been communicating with people outside the correctional facility about aspects of the criminal case. An inquiry was opened and data was downloaded from the device.
The State is now comparing the cellphone information with tracking data obtained from Sotheni’s vehicle to determine whether the two sets of evidence are relevant to the events surrounding Van der Merwe’s killing.
Sotheni faces 16 charges, including premeditated murder, conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition, and theft of police-issued firearms. He has previously been denied bail and remains in custody.
Van der Merwe, who had testified as Witness D before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, was shot dead outside his Brakpan home in December 2025.
The defence opposed another lengthy postponement and disputed the State’s account of where the cellphone was found. The court nevertheless postponed the matter to 22 November while investigators complete the outstanding forensic work.
Source: Mail & Guardian. Read the original report.
